Twenty under 40! Capt. Daniel Mueller

Saturday

May 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2013 at 12:20 PM

Capt. Daniel Mueller, 38, has been a resident of Stark County for 25 years. He didn’t come here by choice, but he stayed because, “Stark County has a good populace. The people here are the ones that can make this county like no other.”

As a youngster, he said, “I didn’t really get a chance to decide where I wanted to live. My mom remarried. He got a job at Diebold so we came here.”

After graduating from GlenOak High School, he attended Kent State University but travel was calling him and he moved to Australia, spent time in Washington, D.C., while he worked on his degree, then joined the Army. From that point, he was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Sill, Okla., from 1997 to 2004, before returning home to Stark County.

“The family brought me back here,” he said, noting his first child, Lauren, was born. He is married to Hillary Mueller, and they have two children.

The couple is active in the community. Together they have a Wounded Warrior fundraiser every year in honor of his best man who was hit by an improvised explosive device overseas.

“When I came out of active duty, I worked at PPG Industries in Barberton, but I was missing the uniform and the people so I joined the National Guard. I was an ROTC instructor at Youngstown State University and working at the National Guard part time. Then I got hired full-time in the Guard.”

With the job market the way it is right now, he said, getting young adults to stay here “is about going out and recruiting corporations and businesses to offer

graduating classes of college as well as increasing blue collar work to keep a good baseline of employees throughout Stark County.”

He said it takes our politicians to go out and recruit the type of people who fit in Stark County and the jobs that young people want to do, not only in the tech fields but in environment fields and other areas.

“Stark County has a lot to offer,” Mueller continued. “It is just a matter of recruiting the right corporations to keep the young population growing.”

He believes it is important for people his age to give back to the community.

“You hear a lot that there is nothing to do in Canton,” he said. “You have to educate others about what there is in Stark County and help them gain interest in what is here. There are lots of opportunities here. You just have to go out and educate yourself about what is available.”

ABOUT DANIEL MUELLER

Age: 38

Occupation: Training officer, S3, 112th Transportation Battalion.

Education: Master’s degree in management from Webster University, bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Troy State University, GlenOak High School graduate.

In the community: Co-chair for “Salute to Heroes” Committee, which raises money for the national Wounded Warrior Project; volunteer for the Foundation for Community Betterment at the 2012 Ribs Burnoff.

Accomplishments: Recognized with the Ohio Commendation Medal as the state of Ohio runner-up for the prestigious Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award for 2010, multiple Army achievement medals, Army commendation medals, Meritorious Service Medal and nominated for a Bronze Star.